Life and business unfold in non-linear and wonderfully mysterious ways. We focus on what is right in front of our nose, intent on maximizing profit or personal gain. However, things rarely go as we architect them. This blog is about (Campbell) "letting go of the life we've planned so we can embrace the life that is awaiting us."

Mission

For many entrepreneurs, the venture world is needlessly opaque and confusing. Venture capital is both art and science with karma mixed in. With a synchronistic twist, this blog will try to shed light on the world "behind the curtain" as well as how key entrepreneurial lessons are mirrored in everyday life.

When you cut through all of this data, what you see is that VC's portfolios have filled up with deals while there has been little liquidity. With 1,930 companies funded but only 7 IPO's (and another 300 M&A's), you have a lot of overhang in the existing company portfolios. The average time to exit has grown linearly since 2000. For entrepreneurs, what this means is exits will take longer to realize, requiring a long-term perspective to decision making and strategy. Also, VC's are going to be very pre-occupied managing existing companies and have less time to a) due new deals and b) spend time with those deals.

The IPO machine will not likely return until the markets have hit bottom, stabilized and begun their growth again. Additionally, the notion of a promising $30m in revenue company (like Apple was) going public has been replaced by $100m thresholds. This means M&A is the primary driver of exits for some time ahead, which requires less swinging for the fences and more low burn/capital raised.